Newport, R.I. – It was no surprise that the Syracuse University football team was picked to finish near the bottom of the Big East Conference this season in a vote by media members covering the league.

Based on last year’s 5-7 record (1-6 in the conference) the Orange are picked to finish seventh out of eight teams – ahead of only Temple, which returns to the Big East after a seven-year banishment for under-performing in football.

And, as expected, players representing the Orange at the Big East Media Day here weren’t buying into the predictions.

“As far as preseason rankings, I never even look at that. I don’t even know where we’re picked,” said senior left guard Zack Chibane. “We’re probably picked eighth, or seventh.”

Chibane, one of five SU players to accompany Orange head coach Doug Marrone to the event, said the team is used to the lack of hype.

“What else is new,” he said. “We’ve always been picked at the bottom of the Big East.”

The Orange were selected fourth in last year’s poll after finishing 8-5 (4-3 Big East) in 2010.

“That 5-7 (record in 2011) just put an edge on our shoulders last year,” said senior strong safety Shamarko Thomas. “We really don’t worry about what everybody else says about us. We know our errors, our mistakes, and we just build off of that.”

Junior defensive tackle Jay Bromley said some of the players do hear the preseason talk, not that they like it.

“We see that. We can’t say we don’t pay attention to it,” Bromley said. “We see that as motivation.”

Bromley said the team is focused on making sure the predictions don’t come true, and that opponents will find that out when they get on the field with the Orange.

“Every team will get a chance to put their hands in the ground against us,” he said. “And when it comes, they’ll know it.”

Louisville was the runaway favorite to win the Big East this year, getting 24 of the 28 media votes cast for first place. The Cardinals were followed by South Florida, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, SU and Temple.

Chibane said he and his teammates don’t want to struggle again this season.

“We’re looking to take that next step and really prove everybody wrong,” he said. “We’ve kind of buried the hatchet on last season. We’ve had a great spring and a great summer. We’re pretty far removed from last year.”